Authors Notes: Hello! It's been about two years now since my last Tomione and it's seriously taken me this long to come out with a story I'm not criticizing myself over. So this was initially meant to be a one shot but will probably be no longer than five chapters. Still on the short end. But this is pretty AU fair warning.
Hermione Granger didn't mean to notice one Tom Riddle during the sorting ceremony first year. Her brain kept trying to reason between a look that was smarmy and one that considered that he could be handsome in the future. He was sorted into Slytherin and it looked as though Malfoy was content with his Potter-lookalike. Harry had seemed more willing to be friends with her whereas Ron had something going on in his head.
As the years went on she was constantly tied for first in class with Riddle. Malfoy was just behind them. She couldn't deny the blush that came to her on the occasion that Ron came to her defense. Third year she had pushed herself to add classes to her schedule. It seemed as though Riddle was constantly catching up to her and she had to have the upper hand. It also seemed unfair that she would only be allowed to do fewer classes than what were offered. Which caught the attention of Professor McGonagall who offered to vouch for her to have a time turner to complete her classes for the year.
She'd fallen asleep in the library doing an essay for Muggle Studies and had two minutes to get to her next class. With the time turner she was able to buy herself enough time to run to the class without appearing too winded. She sat in front of Lavender Brown and Parvarti in Divination. Ron and Harry were already paired up together.
"Okay but Draco looks really good with his hair not gelled," Lavender gushed.
"You realize he's an absolute bigot and just because his hair isn't as greasy as his personality anymore doesn't negate that," Hermione snapped, turning around.
"God, Hermione, you could really like cool down."
She rolled her eyes. Professor Trelawney started class and Hermione wished her time turner threw her forward in time as well. She tried to ignore Riddle's eyes boring into her. Lavender was the complete teachers pet in the class, and Riddle seemed to be aggressively into the subject which struck Hermione as odd. His hair was growing out a bit longer leaving him with a wavier hair texture. She did not think Tom Riddle was attractive.
Hermione caught her breath hiding behind a stone. Her past self was already walking down the hill.
"What are you hiding from?" a voice asked.
She turned around and came face to face with Riddle. He had a smile that was too friendly and she felt her face mimic a dear in the headlights.
"What do you want?" she asked; her voice came out a squeak.
"Why, I think I'm the only one to deduce that you've been time traveling this year," he said.
His smile widened. Ron and Harry had barely noticed her absences and reappearances and she suspected they thought she was mad. Of course, Riddle, observant as ever, would've pieced it together. He was tied with her for first.
"I have to go, Riddle," she said.
"Call me Tom," he said.
She ran as hard as her legs would pump her back up to the castle.
The summer of her Fourth year had been a blur between going to the Quidditch World Cup and finding a pair of suitable dress robes for an event Hogwarts would be having. She noticed Tom looking at her from the Slytherin table; she avoided looking at him. Then it was announced that the Triwizard tournament would be coming back. Ron had mentioned it had been discontinued after a number of casualties and Hermione found herself horrified they were bringing back the event, no matter how many times Dumbledore insisted there had been safeguards and precautions setting up the Tournament. Only students that were at least seventeen could put their name into the Goblet of Fire and two other schools would be visiting for participation as well.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tom's delighted smile wane into a scowl.
The feast started and she averted her eyes to the table.
Tom was far more of a teachers pet in comparison to her. The difference being that a majority of the professors actually liked her. This gave her the advantage in most situations and his inability to take advantage of the Tournament gave her further satisfaction. She hid the smug look on her face with the goblet she brought to her lips. The boys exchanged confused glances before deciding to ignore it, and Ron continued to tell Harry the history of the Tournament. Her beaming mood was brought down by the realization she had gotten comfortable thinking about Riddle as Tom. An utter disgrace to the idea of their rivalry that had been going on for four years now. Harry. at least, was consistent in his rivalry with Malfoy.
The first week of classes went by predictably. Tom was the crown jewel of Professor Slughorn in potions which irked her to no end. Still, she was favored by the professor, being able to brew better potions than Tom. "Mad Eye" Moody had taken over the Defense Against the Dark Art's class as Professor Lupin had left the year before to everyone's disappointment. Except maybe Malfoy. Hermione was mortified when Professor Moody had started off the first lesson introducing them to the Unforgivable Curses, conceptually anyway. Neville had been able to describe the Cruciatus curse without faltering, although his expression would betray him. Moody had explained the Imperious before asking for the third curse. Riddle answered the Killing Curse too easily for a person. Her eyes narrowed trying to figure out if the small smile on his face was from his arrogance from taking on the question or psychopathy. Moody appeared unimpressed while saying Riddle was correct. The smile turned into a scowl that he hid with a blank expression. Psychopathy.
The class was short, if it was a class at all. The disturbed look on Neville's face haunted her. Everyone started gathering their things and mingling out the door.
"I think he's brilliant," Harry said. She had no doubt Harry would be the favourite of this class.
"I'm going to talk to Neville, he seemed distressed," Hermione said.
He shrugged and started talking to Ron. Hermione ran out the door trying to catch up with Neville. She found him hidden in a nook of the stairwell looking out the window.
"Are you okay, Neville?" she asked him.
"I'm fine," he said.
"You seemed disturbed in Moody's class and I just thought..."
"If I want to talk about it, I'll tell you. Is that enough?"
She tried to not frown the way she wanted too and nodded. Moody hobbled down the stairs to Neville. He gave her a small wave as he walked up the stairs with Moody.
"Always a concerned Gryffindor, aren't you?"
She turned around and saw Tom looking up at her. It wasn't necessarily looking up despite him being steps lower factoring in his height. Hermione rolled her eyes and stalked down the stairs. He was trying to catch up with her.
"You know, Moody will probably be gone at the end of the year. Another tragic accident," Tom said. "Apparently the rumors are that the last professor Merrythought was too attached to his position, far too invested about the care of his students, and when he died he inadvertently casted a hex on it."
"Delightful," she said coldly.
"I want to give it a go after graduation. Perhaps I'll be the one to break Merrythought's curse. Isn't that a bit ironic? A name like Merrythought and he casts a ridiculous curse on accident."
They came to the end of the stairs and she turned around on him.
"Why are coming to me with this? We've been academic rivals for four years now, and why should I care about your ridiculous aspirations?" Hermione snapped.
He laughed. It was cool and it unnerved her.
"Academic rivals? Well fine, we can keep this rivalry if that's what you wish," he smiled. "I, however, don't see how that should affect a more closer personal relationship outside of academics. You're the only one in this bloody school that is anywhere close to understanding me, if that was possible."
She scowled. He leaned over close to her ear.
"After all, you amuse me," he said.
Her mouth parted. He pulled away, ruffled his hair, and walked off. She pursed her lips. Harry had wild unruly hair, he never needed to put any effort into maintaining the appearance.
The crowd flooded around her and she realized she risked being late to her next class.
The Yule Ball had been announced when the competing schools arrived. It was in tradition with the Tournament as to somewhat honor the champions of the schools. Ron was estatic that Quidditch player, Viktor Krum, was with the Durmstrang school. He explained what he heard about him staying with the school while playing Quidditch, and somehow he made it sound more complicated than it probably was. Or it was a confusing set up regardless. The Goblet would be set up that night for willing participants wanting to compete.
Hermione had stayed in the common room with Harry as everyone went to spectate the Goblet. They had a transfiguration essay to work on after all. Neither of them were that interested in spectating people attempting to win the draw for their school.
She had the worst dream that night. Her mind had schemed a dream of her in a broom closet with Riddle, he touched her arm, running his fingers up and down. The words were jumbled although she got the impression that they were discussing something about an upcoming test. And Professor McGonagall had found them in the closet and was horrified and Hermione was equally horrified. Sure, she hadn't done anything explicit with Riddle but she was still with him. Her body jerked up as she woke up. What a horrible dream.
The worst thing was that for the next week she couldn't look at Riddle straight and made more of an effort to ignore him.
The champions were Fleur Delacour for Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum for Durmstrang, and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. Dumbledore made another speech with this announcement. Hermione couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Or rather, that something was supposed to go wrong but hadn't. And she didn't know why she wanted something terrible to happen so terribly, or what this terrible thing was even supposed to be. She felt faint as the students departed the Great Hall.
Ron caught her arm as she swayed out the door. He looked at her concerned.
"I just need to go to the bathroom. I'm fine, I swear," she lied through a forced smile.
Reluctantly he let her go.
She was almost to the door of the bathroom before she felt someone grab her. The floor was in very close proximity to her face.
"Your friends should really take better care of you."
Her balance had righted her. She looked at him. A smug look and wavy dark hair. His features looked too round for what they should've been.
"I'm fine," she hissed.
"No, you're famished," he said.
"What gives you that impression?"
"You're hardly ever in the Great Hall and when you are, you're eating very little before running off to who knows where."
He said it so matter-of-factly and obviously it would made Sir Arthur Conan Doyle roll in his grave.
"Here, let me take you to the kitchens," he said.
"There's a kitchens?" she asked.
"Of course. Where else would we get the food to eat? You just need to know how to get there."
And the kitchens was large. And full of house elves.
"There's house elves here?" she balked. "Are they compensated? Why would Hogwarts have house elves?"
"Well, they're serving elves. Nothing they love more to do. They're kept out of sight, out of mind, to avoid any potential unnecessary cruelty, and they're bound to the school not to anyone in particular, so they don't die," Riddle said. "I can't believe you of all people didn't know this."
"It was never anywhere in Hogwarts a History!"
"Of course not."
"And you're just okay with the fact that Hogwarts is okay with slavery?"
"It's not slavery. They'd die if they didn't live like this."
Before she could make more of a fight out of it with Riddle, one of the house elves was at his feet and he gave a slew of an order to the elf who ran off.
"This isn't right," she said.
"It's the principle of the thing," he said.
"That's a mildly irritating phrase that explains nothing."
He shrugged. The elf came over with a picnic basket. Tom thanked the nameless house elf and walked out. She followed him.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
He held the basket up.
"Outside, just a picnic," he said.
She huffed.
And they walked down by the lake and Hermione reluctantly sat next to Tom. There were sandwiches and pot roast and pies other rich foods along with tarts and pumpkin pastries. She inspected one of the pies.
"This looks like a chicken pot pie," she said.
"Smart," he responded.
They broke into the food and Hermione was too distracted to worry about Riddle. When he finished he laid down and looked up at the growing night sky.
"Aren't we going to go back?" she asked.
"It's a lovely evening out tonight. It'll grow colder later and unwelcoming unpleasant," Riddle stated.
"Filtch will catch us."
"Not if he doesn't. Besides, we're still before curfew."
She huffed and laid on the ground too.
"We should do this again," he said.
"We should not do this again," she said.
"I unnerve you, why?"
"Perhaps you gave the explanation of the Killing Curse too swiftly to not be considered a psychopath."
"It's practical knowledge, Hermione."
"They say that there's not one witch or wizard that hasn't gone bad in Slytherin."
"That's a self-fulfilling prophecy then, isn't it? Beat that 'truth' into us and doom us all. Did you ever notice the amount of booing that happens to first years when they're sorted into Slytherin? And you think hmm this isn't going to psychologically damage them into wanting to take revenge? And if you perhaps, want this Slytherin to be good despite that, then why is there never any true effort to break that stigma? There's no hope or benefit of the doubt given."
"Is that what you want? To be good? Be given the benefit of the doubt?"
"Doesn't matter to me. We're powerless, against this system that's meant to put people like us down."
One star looked particularly bright.
"Your precious Hagrid is a Slytherin. Was, anyway. I guess that never occurred to you."
Hermione was stunned at this little factoid Tom had given her. She supposed the possibility never did cross her mind when Hagrid seemed so adamantly anti-Slytherin. Now she'd have to go into the school records to either prove that Tom's word was true or that he was simply lying to her.
"Why do you hate me so much? Or just the general mistrust?" he asked.
"Second year. I was coming back from the quidditch practice with Harry and the team when you, Malfoy and the Slytherin team were going. And Malfoy called me a Mudblood. I didn't know what it meant beyond an insult. You never said anything. I knew you had to be a half blood or... muggle-born like me. And you didn't say anything," she recounted.
"I'm not a muggleborn. I know that. My father has to be a wizard, I'm sure. My mother was too pathetic she died giving birth to me."
"You still enabled his behavior."
"Malfoy? He's a prat. I'm lucky he likes me so the other Slytherin's don't attack me."
"Real snake den, huh?"
He laughed.
"You're not particularly witty are you?" he asked.
"I can be!" Hermione retorted.
He stood up and put a hand out to her. Reluctantly she took it. They had left the sandwiches and she grabbed them and stuffed them in her bag. Harry and Ron were sure to eat them and she didn't want them to go to waste.
"What should we do with it?" she asked.
"Leave it there?" Tom said. "The house elves will know."
She rolled her eyes. She refused to take his arm as they walked back up to the castle.
When she got up to the tower the boys were playing chess. Ron winning again. Hermione tilted her head in thought. He was smart, in his own way, and she liked the freckles splashed across his face, and he had a warmth she worried she lacked. She pulled up a chair and sat between them.
"Did you know that there were house elves working in the kitchens?" Hermione asked.
"Well sure. Everyone knows that," Ron said.
"I didn't know that," Harry said.
"Oh. Maybe I'm wrong," Ron stated.
"I want to do something about it. It's wrong to try to justify a different form of slavery," Hermione said.
"Yeah, but they need to be bound to something. It's how it's always been," Ron said. He yelled when Harry caught one of his pieces.
"That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to fix it!" Hermione snapped.
"I heard house elves could be freed by clothes," Harry said. "If you give it to them willingly."
"If I make clothes and leave them out for them, then they'll have to be free!" Hermione said enthusiastically.
"They might resent you for it," Ron said. "I'm not saying that keeping house elves is... right. My family can't afford it. But maybe you should try to find a more collective solution than that."
"I suppose you're right," Hermione sighed.
"If you want to have better conditions for the house elves, we're in it with you," Harry said.
Ron nodded in agreement. She grinned. Perhaps Ron had a point, she had to be more aware of what was going on before she tried to fix everything, but she also wouldn't be alone in doing it.
Slughorn work in partners for the next potion. And he just so happened to partner her with Riddle. She looked at Harry sadly as she moved across tables. Usually they worked together if they needed to, and he wasn't a bad partner for the most part. Riddle had a shit eating grin on his face. The instructions were simple, refer to the book, the assignment should take two weeks. She was civil with him, and had to correct him on one error he made when getting the ingredients. They just had to let it simmer for the next day and a half before the next class.
Durmstrang students were hanging in the hallway at the top of the dungeons. She noticed Krum was in their group and looking at her oddly. Then she noticed the arm that was across her shoulders. Riddle.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I think we should go to the library to work on that essay Moody gave us," he said confidently.
"What makes you think I'm going anywhere with you?"
"I'm your intellectual equal."
"Seriously, what gives? You've never made the effort to chase after a girl. After all, you have your little groupie fan club."
"What part of intellectual equal are you not getting? Any one of those... fan girls, have converted over to supporting Diggory and they're utter dolts as well."
"Ahh, so that's why the effort is on me! You're hurt by the lack of attention caused by Diggory!"
He grimaced. Later, she'll consider it a manufactured personality he created to present to her in an effort to get her to trust him and join whatever malevolent scheme he'd devised. For now, she'll think it is simply an ego wound and she's the only girl in school that doesn't like him.
"We're at the library," he said.
They were. And she didn't mind his weight on her shoulders. A very disturbing thought. Ginny walked out at that moment. She looked at Tom and Hermione with wide eyes as she noticed them. Hermione unhooked his fingers from her shoulder.
"I should really leave with Ginny," she smiled.
"Ginny Weasley? Hex expert?" Tom grinned. "Nott was quite devastated by your jelly legs jinx. Impressive work."
"Th-thanks Tom," Ginny said, the blush rising on her cheeks.
She glared at Tom before dragging Ginny away.
"I heard that Krum likes you but Tom is so much better!" she squealed once they were away.
"I have no interest in boys right now. Besides, Tom only wants you to like him so it'll convince me to like him," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
"But you're always tied for first! It's obvious you should be together!"
"What was that about Nott anyway?"
"Oh, he was giving Luna a hard time. And Luna's too nice to say anything that I had to do something."
Luna Lovegood was supposed to be on the nuttier side of the Ravenclaw house. "Loony Lovegood" she heard on occasion.
"Well, I guess that justifies it," Hermione said.
"But you will need a date for the Yule Ball. You should really go with Riddle if he asks you," Ginny said.
"Oh not this again!"
It didn't help that Riddle began being more obnoxious about answering questions and causing a scene whenever Durmstrang students were around in particular. She couldn't explain that part yet. It was screaming for attention. And Slughorn had said their potion came out perfect once they began evaluating them. She meant to joke about Riddle's recent behavior with the boys, only Ron seemed to be simmering in anger without saying much. It wasn't that she wanted Ron to fight for her, that was unrealistic, but it bothered her that he acted as nonchalant as possible without explaining it.
If Riddle didn't follow her to the library, she was sure to find Krum near her. It was utterly bothersome.
The Yule Ball seemed to garner more attention than the First Task. Which seemed more concerning. The first task had everyone on edge as the Champions faced off against Dragons for an out of place egg. Viktor came in first with Fleur and Cedric following. Conversation resumed back to the ball.
She walked out of the library satisfied. There was nothing in the rule book against protests, activism and the sort. She'd work on the last batch of her S.P.E.W. badges later that night. After homework of course.
There was a commotion coming from the courtyard. Hermione noticed a group of Hufflepuffs gathered around someone. She got closer and saw Olive Hornby and her gang, a group of sixth years, bullying Myrtle. "Moaning Myrtle" she found out had come from Olive and her gang. Myrtle was a fifth year Ravenclaw, not someone she was ever particularly close to.
"C'mon Myrtle, you cry too much and your glasses are too bulky. Who'd ever take you to the ball!" Olive snickered.
Her posse laughed along. Myrtle was sputtering too much to make a proper come back.
"Leave her alone!" Hermione shouted, walking closer to the group.
"Stay out of this!" Olive snapped. "We're busy with our friend."
"I dare say that's not how I would treat any of my friends," Hermione said confidently.
"Please go," Myrtle said quietly.
"You're just another bloody Gryffindor getting into everyone's business so you can play hero!" Olive seethed.
She started towards Hermione and Hermione pulled out her wand. Olive raised her fist as if to throw a punch and a jet of light hit her side. She fell over and started throwing up mice.
"The Gryffindor did that?" the group of girls chorused.
"I was just doing fine on my own!" Myrtle screamed.
"Myrtle..." Hermione started.
The Ravenclaw girl started wailing loudly as she flew away from the scene.
The spell didn't come from me.
She looked over to where the spell must have come from. She heard the girls getting worried about Olive. Hermione walked into the corridor. She caught the edge of a black robe before it was gone.
The next day in potions Tom stopped by her table gleefully. She narrowed her eyes.
"Notice anything?" he asked.
The bright S.P.E.W badge is pinned beneath his house crest on his robe.
"I thought you didn't care about house elf rights," she said.
"You're an impressive force of nature. Plus, Weasley gave me this and said that it mattered to you," Tom said, almost bored. "Bit odd that one. Also told me something about staying away from you if some thing or another."
She heard Harry sit next to her and Riddle walked off.
"Krum asked me to go with him to the Ball," Hermione said. She moved her pawn.
"What did you say?" Harry asked. He moved a bishop.
"I said yes. He can't pronounce my name right but he could be worse."
"Could be Tom."
"Could be Tom."
"I don't see why you didn't wait for him to ask you."
"The Ball is getting closer. And I wasn't waiting for Riddle to ask me... I was... hoping someone else would."
He took her pawn.
"Who else would you have wanted to ask you?" Harry asked.
"Erm, Ron," Hermione admitted. "But it'll take him a millennia before he realizes I'm a girl."
"You are a girl."
"No, I mean like a girl."
Harry shrugged in agreement. He moved a knight.
"Besides, I don't trust Riddle," Hermione said.
"He follows you around like a puppy and didn't sabotage your potion you worked on together," he said.
"Him following me around like a puppy is precisely why I don't trust him. He's always had this coldness around him that keeps anyone from knowing him and his fan girl club only formed last year when him and Malfoy apparently became attractive."
She dangled a hand over her bishop.
"Are either of us really playing this right?" Hermione asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. Checkers seems easier about now," Harry admitted. "If Ron isn't around I don't know what I'm doing."
"And of course he didn't sabotage the potion we worked on together precisely because it involved him. It wouldn't have ruined his image to Slughorn but it would've been awfully impractical."
"Seems logical. I think."
He moved his queen into an open space. Hermione had already taken most of his pawns.
"I think it's impractical anyways to think Riddle might possibly have feelings. He feels too staged lately and I hate it," Hermione said. "And this pairing people have of us would make as much sense as you and Malfoy."
"That's disgusting," Harry balked. She shrugged in indifference.
"He's an academic rival and that's all he should be."
"Seems boring."
"It's practical."
Neither of them were making good plays right now.
"You should try to ask Ginny to the dance," Hermione said.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"She's been in love with you for like three years."
"She's Ron's sister."
"And I'm sure if Ron came to you and said he was interested in me and whatever the hypothetical scenario is, you would say I'm like a sister to you."
"You're insane."
"Good luck finding a date otherwise."
She noticed Harry at the bottom of the stairs and his mouth seemed to drop. A grin formed on her face. Lavender Brown had helped her with her hair using a strangely named hair potion that softened her busy hair into manageable curls. Parvarti had helped her with her make up. For once, she didn't mind the giggling girls. Then she noticed Tom the closer she came to the crowd. Her eyes immediately searched for Krum.
The Champions walked in in pairs and Hermione was overwhelmed. McGonagall's lessons had come in handy. Then the crowd slowly started to move onto the dance floor. Krum was decent company and she found herself enjoying her time at the dance. For a while they had broken off and had joined Krum's friends and their dates. The Durmstrang girls were friendly and the one Hufflepuff girl who also happened to be a date was also enjoyable company. They were going to leave the main party to explore the Durmstrang ship. Hermione, remembering Harry and Ron, had asked to invite them along as well and Krum was delighted.
She broke away from their little party and found Harry and Ron at a table away from the dancing crowd. Harry and Ginny were talking and Ron looked irritable.
"Viktor's asked us to go with him and his friends to their ship," Hermione panted, she sat down with a smile. "Isn't that amazing?"
"Of course, you're fraternizing with the enemy," Ron grumbled.
"The TriWizard Tournament is meant to promote friendship and diversity and community," Hermione argued, baffled by his response. "I'm surprised you've never even said this about Riddle. Who is actually the enemy."
"At least I know he likes you because you're smart like him. Krum just wants someone to take advantage of," Ron argued.
"Weren't you the one just dying for his autograph two months ago? And he also wanted you to come on the ship?" Hermione snapped.
"Ron, don't be a prat, we can all go," Ginny said, trying to calm her brother.
"You're lucky he even asked you to be his date. You're not attractive that much on a normal day," Ron bit.
"It's no wonder Parvarti abandoned you tonight! And you gave me so much grief about not having a date or not really having a date and just saying I did so I wouldn't look pathetic just because I wouldn't tell you. If you wanted to go with me, you should've asked instead of treating me like a last resort and then calling me unattractive just because someone else found me to be!" Hermione screamed. "You're such a miserable vile person tonight Ron."
She looked over at Harry and Ginny. Both were stunned by her outburst.
"If you want to go with Krum, I'm perfectly alright with that," Hermione said, her voice warbling. "I hope you have fun for the rest of the night."
Because I'm not.
She ran out of the Great Hall. Her feet kept running but she didn't remember which way she wanted to go and she'd ended up in a courtyard on the farther side of the castle. The adrenaline wore off. She sat on the stone bench under a tree and sobbed. The snow was starting to stick to the ground and onto her dress but she didn't care. It wasn't that she expected Ginny and Harry to defend her, but it hurt that Ron felt it was acceptable to be that vile anyway.
"You really ran out of there."
Hermione used her palm to brush some of the tears away, forgetting the make up.
"Go away, Tom," she said.
Instead he sat next to her. He wore deep green robes.
"You do look like Cinderella. Blue dress, crying on a bench under a tree," Tom said. "I appreciate that you called me Tom."
She heaved as she tried to level her breathing.
"Her dress is white," Hermione protested.
"Marketing has made it blue, love," he said.
"Did you abandon your date?"
"Didn't take one. There wasn't a girl worthy."
"Ah yes because your standards for what makes an acceptable girl is perfectly attainable."
"One has."
"Stop it, Tom."
"But you seemed to have abandoned your date."
"I didn't... mean to. Ron was just so... vile I couldn't..."
"He's a dolt anyway."
"Right of course."
"Snape busted a Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff shagging in a carriage a while ago."
"Like I needed to know that."
"I thought it was amusing."
He stood up and held a hand to her.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Well, whatever that prat Weasley said, it shouldn't have ruined your night so, I'm offering you the last dance of the evening."
"There's no music."
"Rubbish. Just dance, will you?"
She stood up almost reluctantly. He looked at her confused.
"Oh, um, will you please dance with me, Hermione," he said.
"I will."
The snow continued it's graceless fall. It was more of a sway than it was a waltz. He didn't say anything. Hermione felt herself tired and leaned against his chest. His arms wrapped themselves around her tighter. It kept her warm definitely. She wondered what Harry and Ginny had gotten up to. He'd asked her more as a friend which Ginny was thrilled by. She pulled away from Tom. Her mouth parted.
"I need to get back," she said after a while. "To the tower."
He nodded in understanding. He kept an arm loose at her waist as he escorted her back to the Gryffindor dorms. She didn't know why she didn't protest this. The walk seemed longer this time which it never felt like.
And she walked up the stairs to the dorm and Riddle looked at her.
"I don't know why you wear a false face in front of me," she said. "I don't appreciate it. I don't know why, but... if you did think of me anywhere close to an equal I wouldn't understand why."
"You looked lovely, Hermione," he said. He started down the stairs before looking over his shoulder. "Sweet dreams."
She walked into the dorm and got unready. And she wanted to shout that it was unfair that Tom was kind to her when he never had been and she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The other shoe had to drop because he couldn't be that perfect.